Strikes Bring Ribeiro Sengoku V Victory

Sep 28, 2008

TOKYO -- In what was supposed to be a display of world-class
Brazilian jiu-jitsu prowess, Alexandre
“Xande” Ribeiro instead put away professional wrestler Takashi
Sugiura with a series of knees and punches in the featured bout
at Sengoku V on Sunday at the Yoyogi National First Gymnasium.

In the final minute of the fight, with Ribeiro (1-0) showing signs
of fatigue, he unleashed one last attempt to finish Sugiura. He
landed with punches and followed with a right knee that sent
Sugiura (1-3) into the corner. Ribeiro then delivered another knee
that opened a sizable cut over his opponent’s eye and forced the
stoppage 4:18 into round three.

While it may not have been the debut the mixed martial arts world
was expecting from the five-time BJJ world champion, Ribeiro was
upbeat.

“I think it was a great experience, a totally different world for
me,” he said. “I think today I walked inside the ring as a man, and
I walked out a different man.

Ribeiro set the tone for the bout early, when he opened up with a
right hand, followed with a high kick and attempted a takedown
against Sugiura. Later in the first round, the Brazilian succeeded
in his attempt to push the fight to the ground after he stunned his
opponent with a straight right and followed with a double-leg
takedown.

After struggling past a half-guard lockdown, Ribeiro moved to mount
and delivered some ground-and-pound. However, he failed to secure
an armbar as the round drew to a close. Sugiura proved a worthy
test for Ribeiro and thwarted his takedowns in the second round.
Not until the closing seconds of the period did Ribeiro manage to
get him on the ground, and by that time he had little time with
which to work.

Ribeiro turned up the heat in the third and ultimately finished
Sugiura, who fought for the first time in two and a half years.

“I never thought I would be so excited, yet calm,” Ribeiro said. “I
really appreciate I got to fight three rounds. I got a little bit
tired. It’s a new experience. It’s hard to really deal with the
amount of power and technique you need to use.”

The quest to find Kazuo Misaki
a worthy opponent got under way, as eight men from six countries
entered the quarter-finals of the Sengoku middleweight grand
prix.

Clark (11-3) survived a kimura attempted and struck well in the
first, but his luck ran out in the second. Santiago (18-7) secured
takedown and, after missing with an armbar, coaxed the tapout with
an arm triangle choke 3:35 into the second round.

In his first trip to 185 pounds, Kazuhiro
Nakamura easily managed to outwork Golden Glory’s Paul Cahoon.
Nakamura’s superior footwork was the story of the fight, as it
allowed him to score with solid right hands from the outside.
Cahoon was left flat-footed and frustrated, unable to reach his
opponent. All three judges sided with Nakamura (12-8), and while he
controlled the action, he never seriously hurt Cahoon (10-12).

Another quarter-final ended in unfortunate fashion.

Siyar
Bahadurzada promised violence at the pre-fight press
conference, and though his bout with Evangelista
“Cyborg” Santos induced pain, it was not in the manner
expected. Santos landed with better effect in the opening exchange
and forced Bahadurzada to try for an early takedown.

Santos (16-12) spun inside a body lock during the takedown and
landed in mount. However, as he posted out, the Brazilian
gruesomely dislocated his elbow, forcing an immediate stoppage just
22 seconds into the match. Oblivious to the fact that a freak
injury brought him to victory, Bahadurzada (14-3-1) mounted the
ring ropes and let out a scream as Santos was carried out on a
stretcher.

In a fight most viewed as a potential snooze fest, Yuki Sasaki
submitted Yuki Kondo with
a second-round rear naked choke to move into the grand prix
semi-finals. After an uneventful first round that featured circling
from both men, Sasaki secured a takedown in the second and went to
work. He secured back control on Kondo, sank in the choke and
forced the tapout out 1:08 into the round.

Daniel Herbertson/Sherdog.com

Muhammed Lawal (left) lands a
left hand against Travis Wiuff

Ribeiro was not the only MMA rookie to impress at Sengoku V.

Muhammed “Mo”
Lawal dispatched veteran Travis Wiuff
with surprising ease. After gyrating his way to the ring with a
troupe of dancers, Lawal (1-0) used swift footwork to dart in and
out with punches and keep his foe on his toes. After he faked a
shot, Lawal leaped in with a Superman punch, stunned Wiuff (53-12)
and sent him reeling into the ropes. Lawal then scored with an easy
double leg and pounded away for the stoppage just 2:11 into the
fight.

“I’m taking out all bums -- anyone who is trying to run into my
kingdom with my four queens,” Lawal said. “I gotta defend them.
Look how good they look.”

In a highly anticipated lightweight showdown, Jorge
Masvidal stopped International Fight League champion Ryan Schultz
with first-round ground-and-pound. Masvidal (14-3-1) countered a
Schultz one-two combination, landed a crisp straight right and
followed with a flying knee that sent Schultz (20-11-1) to the
canvas. He then finished the Team Quest standout with strikes on
the ground; the end came 1:57 into round one.

In another non-tournament lightweight affair, Kiuma
Kunioku’s submission attempts and ground control earned him a
unanimous decision over A Sol Kwon’s
stomps and striking. Kunioku (34-22-9) has now won three straight
fights.